ECB warning on EU competitiveness

By
Euronews

The President of the European Central Bank Mario
Draghi says a growing gap in comptetitiveness between eurozone members could make it more difficult to keep it together.

In a speech in Paris the ECB chief also called on European banks and governments to take advantage of the lull in the debt crisis to strengthen their position:

“The situation in financial markets has clearly improved in response to the ECB’s measures but also in response to the progress made by euro area governments towards accepting more binding fiscal rules. A number of countries need to repair and strengthen their competitiveness for the sake of their own continued prosperity and the overall stability of the monetary union.”

Draghi said EU banks could improve their resilience by retaining earnings, cutting dividends and reducing bonuses.

He added that countries should also use this phase of financial stabilization to make further progress on economic reforms.